Illusion
by Hetabel
Summary: Luke wakes up in a land that's connected to Clem's memories. How will he deal with encountering old faces and handling his guilt in a dream-like world where's he's not completely dead but not exactly alive?
1. Is this just an illusion?

**AN: Wow, this really sucks, but I needed to vent out my feelings after No Going Back. This (obviously) has spoilers and is rated T because of Luke's (and others) language.**

One moment he was crossing the ice, the next he was slipping into a dark fate, begging for Clem and Bonnie to stay back.

Luke knew this was a bad idea. He had done plenty of risky and rather foolish things in his lifetime but he was able get through it, without succumbing to madness or death like so many others before him. Now with his bruised (hopefully not broken) ribs and a bullet wound in his leg, he knew if he crossed this lake and fell in, there was no going back.

The second he heard that alarming sound, the sudden and sharp crack, he knew he was a freaking goner. Despite knowing and even viewing the crack rapidly growing beneath him, he prayed to any freaking deity that he was imaging things again. _This... Just all of this shit is has to be a nightmare, a horrific illusion. The last few years had to be a bad dream. Nick, Pete, Charlene, and his parents were all healthy and breathing, right?._ And there was _definitely not_ a crack, where one obviously was forming. _Oh God, who is he __kidding?_

Luke made a choked sound in his throat, because this was it for him. _The end._ He had come all this fucking way for nothing. Everyone from his original group was dead _because of him_. He couldn't deny it, hell no one could.

_He was soon going to be joining them._

He saw Clem and Bonnie turn around at the sound of the ice cracking beneath him. They both glanced over at each other, worry in their eyes, probably thinking among the same lines as him. _He's done for._

Bonnie was preparing to run over to him without second thought, probably not realizing the ice would surely then crack beneath both of their weights and lead to their deaths.

"Don't come over here. "

Bonnie paused, again looking over at Clem.

"Hey, I can make it. It-It's fine," He said, trying to not sound worried, while on the inside he was absolutely terrified.

"You sure?" Bonnie asked, clearly doubting him.

"Yeah," Even though the only thing he was sure of was that he was going to die, because it was _just his goddamn luck_ that he could hear walkers approaching and stumbling onto the lake. Every _snap _and _crack _echoed through out the ice and into his mind, seemingly taunting Luke as he cringed at every sound he heard.

"You got walkers on the way, let me help you-"

What Luke really wanted to say was, _Bonnie don't let your crush on me get you killed, because __**I am damn not worth it**__. _His actual plea was, "It's too thin for both of us," which was also true. He tried moving, but the ice snapped even more under his weight.

_Okay, steady now. I, uh- I can do it! Well at least try to... _"I just… I just gotta be care-FUL!"

**_SHIT!_**

The ice broke apart underneath his left leg. In a matter of seconds he went from standing shakily on the ice to being half-submerged into water. _Really fucking freezing, cold water, his injured leg completely inside of the lake now, and just goddamn it all. _All he could do now is make sure Clem and Bonnie didn't go after him.

"Luke, no!"

Clem and Bonnie dashed to reach him, ignoring what he said earlier.

"Stop! Stop!"

_Fuck, fuck, __**FUCK!**_

He could hear the growls of the walker behind him, not caring whenever he was soon going to be half-frozen, and not lukewarm anymore. _Damn why is he making puns at a time like this._ All those shitheads knew was that he was live, fresh meat and that they were _very hungry_.

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Luke yelled at them, because he was not going to let them die for him like his parents, and like so many of his friends had.

"No, you're not!" Bonnie cried out, panic clearly sketching her and Clem's face.

"I just gotta pull myself out."

"You need help, Luke!"

"The ice is too thin. I got it." If he could help it, no one was going to die today on his watch. _Besides himself, _he thought, then shook his head as if that would rid of the negative thought.

"You need to help!" Bonnie told Clem, telling her to exactly what Luke didn't want to hear.

"No! You're gonna fall through!"

"Clem, go! Go help him!"

"No, Clem, **Do not**!

"Clem, just go back from him. You're light. You can do it."

_Goddamnit. _"Stop telling her that! Clem! Look at me. Pull out your gun and shoot those damn walkers, okay? Just give me a little time."

"Clem, you can make it. But you need to go! Now!"

Clem quickly looked back and forth between Bonnie and Luke, before she decided whose advice to follow.

She took one step forward, while Bonnie started shooting the walkers.

Clem slowly made his way over to him, ignoring Mike and Kenny's cries. He tried pulling his leg out, but he knew this was it for him. All he could do now was make sure that Clem headed back.

"Just go back. Please… p-" Luke begged, yet she still kept coming towards him.

"I got you."

"Please…" He shook his head, wishing this wasn't happening, that he wasn't about to sink into the icy depths of this lake and possibly cause this valuable girl to die too.

"_It's gonna be alright_."

Despite his warnings, she reached her hand out to take hold of his. Just as their hands were about connect, being the stupid optimist he was, he thought, _maybe I do have a chance_. Then, the ice and his hopes both shattered into a million pieces.

It was cold. So fucking cold. He could feel the pressure of the water all around him, barely being able to see in this pit of death. The presence of his looming death that was now going to take him like it did with so many of his friends. He couldn't move his leg, or anything. He felt like he was frozen in time. All he could do was…_ think._

_He thought of all those dark times. The ones when he felt like ending his life could make him happy, not having to worry and kill all the time just to survive this horrendous world. To just be free in the bliss of the unknown of whatever was waiting for him, beyond this hell-ridden universe. All of those thoughts seemed so dumb now, because he didn't want to die._

_He saw what depression did to people. Finding Nick in the shed one night about a year ago, pressing a gun to his temple, with streams of tears and apologies flowing from him. Only being able to stop him by having to coax him for an hour, explaining his mother's death wasn't his fault, fuck no one was or would ever be held accountable for Charlene's death._

_Bonnie sobbing into his shoulder, in a dingy closet at the back of Howe's, after telling him about that 'good-for-nothing Leland,' and so many traitors, regrets, and broken promises throughout her lifetime, even before the apocalypse. _

_Clem telling him about her chilling conversation with Kenny, about him seeing his close to death encounter as some sort of sick form of relief, only wanting to be free of the thoughts of his past family and girlfriend._

_He was fucking terrified, because even though at times he wanted to just end it all… He didn't want to die. Sinking slowly, because damn it all he couldn't see well and needed to a find a… Oh my god, there was the spot he fell in through, if he could get there fast enough, he could get someone to help pull him out-_

But wait.

**_Where was Clementine?_**

He wasn't going to leave her behind, like he cowardly did with Sarah, which almost cost her life. Just thank god Clem was able to get Sarah to move, or he didn't know how he could live with himself. Not that he did much better later that day, as his fooling around with Jane caused them to be unprepared for the horde, which did lead to her demise.

But fuck... he didn't want this. All he truly desired was to see the light of each new day, smiles on everyone's faces, and hear the glorious sound of laughter that they had all experienced the night before.

And in that moment Luke realized he wanted to live, no doubt about it, because even though the world may be shit, it's all he's got and all he'll ever receive. In life there are no refunds, and even if something is crappy there are always small things you can appreciate.

Like friends, family, the possibility of love and hope, and if you're lucky enough, a true reason to live. Or in this case, just being able to take breath of air without his lungs filling up with water just seemed like a dream, as he looked around to find the girl who came back for him.

He forced himself to suck it up (not literally) and move, which he did, turning around to see Clem trying to kick a walker that was holding her leg. Luckily she was victorious in her task and started to swim up towards the surface when a walker was swimming towards her, about to grab her.

_Oh shit._

Luke dived forward, clutching the walker and pushing it down, away from Clementine. Then all he saw above him was a sunlight coming from the hole Clem created, and for a second hope warmed his insides because _he wasn't going to die, thanks to C-._

His rise upwards was interrupted, as a weight pulled him down. He could feel the bony hand clutching his ankle, taking away his chance of living for at least another day. His lungs burned, as he tried desperately to swim upwards and take a much needed breath of air. The corners of his vision were turning blurry; the only thing in his eyesight was Clem staring in shock at the scene, staying frozen as she watched Luke get pulled into the murky depths.

He couldn't think clearly, he couldn't breathe. Only one thought raced around in his mind.

_Please look away, please look away, you don't need to see another-_

Luke could only see darkness and feel the pressure of water around him, literally sinking his soul.

_Water. Freezing cold. Surrounding him. Killing him._

He desperately tried to take a breath in a last-ditched effort. There was no air though, only emptiness.

...

Luke lurched up coughing, gasping for a breath of air that he quickly found. He clutched the blanket on his body-

_Wait a second. What the hell?_

He looked around him, and he didn't see not the bottom of a frozen lake or his and Nick's room at group's cabin He saw the last place he thought that he would never see again.

_Why... Why was he in his house?_

He was in his living room, and there was no signs of the rotten corpses nor the blood of his undead parents.

He put his fingers up to neck, breathing slowly to check for a pulse that was supposed to absent.

_Except it wasn't._

Luke heard a noise from the other room, and froze, expecting a walker or a bandit to come waltzing in and murdering him on sight.

He wasn't expecting to see Nick standing in the doorway, his signature cap on his head, his blue eyes locked on Luke.

_How? Clem and Jane told him he was dead But wasn't he as well? Yet he had a pulse, and he was pretty damn sure that he didn't have a pair of wings on his back and a shining halo._

"N-nick?"

"Hey asshole."

_Ah classic Nick. He'd missed that. Even though it had only been a few days since he had last seen Nick alive, breathing a bit heavily from his wound, but ready to assist in finding the other members in the group, it felt like a lifetime ago._

"Um... Nick... Are we in hell?"

Nick chuckled. "Why in the hell would you think that?"

"We're both dead... and you're here soooo..."

Nick walked over and sat down next to Luke.

"First of all, are you okay? I've known things have been shitty, but-"

Luke sighed, "I swear I'm not crazy! I-"

"Luke, I know you're not... well, not entirely. What I don't know if were actually 'dead' or not, but we died. F-Fuck we died. I can still sometimes feel the bullet piercing my skin or those bites... Just fuck, I don't know, man."

"Nick..." He took a deep breath "I am so fucking sorry. I know you'll never be able to forgive me, fuck I wouldn't blame ya! I was so stupid to think you were gonna be fine, I didn't even notice you got shot. I'm-"

Nick quickly moved closer to Luke, pulling him into a hug.

"Don't blame yourself for the inevitable. "

Luke let out a shaky breath, clutching to Nick, terrified that if he let go that all of this would disappear.

"I've missed you. Nothings been the same since... you know..."

"I've missed you too, asshole."

Luke released his grip on Luke, smiling slightly. "I guess one bonus in all this crazy shit being able to see you again."

"Hey, are you telling me that seeing me is not always a bonus?"

"Maybe..." Luke teased, wiggling his eyebrows.

Nick grinned, "This is just like old times..."

Luke grinned back at him. "Ah yes, I remember the days of our youth, getting drunk off our asses and trying to blame it on each other. Very good times, to be honest," His tone dripping with sarcasm.

"The absolute best." Nick replied.

"On the topic of better days, where is everyone else?" Luke jolted up, rising off couch and motioning Nick to follow him.

Nick did, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Um... I haven't seen anyone from the group, besides, you know... well, you in a few years..."

Luke choked on air (which he would much rather do than freezing water)."YEARS?"

"Yea... I've been here for a while. I don't think people get to come wherever the hell we are until their brain is destroyed, or their reanimated form is killed."

"So my reanimated form didn't get killed until recently?"

"That's what it would seem like. I've been here awhile because of Clem..." Nick trailed off.

Luke looked shocked. "H-How do you know that? You were dead already when she killed you, right?"

"Yea... I already turned by the time she found me. I know because I watched it." Nick pointed to the T.V. "We can watch any event in the present or past that involves Clem on there. We're able to see all of her thoughts and memories... it's like we're directly connected to her."

"That's kind of strange... but does that mean she's still alive?"

"Yea, the little midget sure did grow up... well she's still growing, fifteen years and counting."

Luke sighed in relief, "That's great to know. What about the others?"

"Mike, Bonnie and Arvo ditched the group the night you... you know... Clem shot Kenny after he tried to kill Jane because he thought she lost the baby in a snowstorm. She was actually just trying to prove to Clem that Kenny was dangerous. Despite her plan almost backfiring on her she did convince Clementine and AJ to travel with her to Howe's. They've built a community there. Been staying there for a few years with a large group of survivors, with Jane and Clem as co-leaders."

"_She killed Kenny?_ She was so damn loyal to him, despite the mistakes he made... but wow."

"Yea, but on the other note I saw you got yourself a girlfriend in my absence."

"So you saw Clem finding Jane and I finishing up our..."

"Fucking. Yea, I saw. Which was funny as shit, but it did end up getting Sarah killed. That was not cool."

"It's not like i wanted Sarah to die! It's just... fuck man, my feelings were overwhelming, everyone we were traveling with died within a few days because of me! **Pete. Alvin. Carlos. Sarah. Rebecca. You**... I-I could have done something, but I didn't. I'm a coward who just wanted a distraction, even if it was stupid."

Nick sighed. "We've all made mistakes, but... we'll talk about this later... No need to ruin this 'magical' moment. Anyway, you have to meet some of the people here. There's a grumpy, old guy who never shuts up about his daughter, a pretty nice woman and her son... They were Kenny's family. That guy Clem talked about a lot and his girlfriend... " Nick and Luke started walking to the front of his house, with Luke glancing around in amazement. The last time he had been in his house was when he had to kill his undead parents, but now there was no blood splattered on the walls or rotting corpses staring at him with soulless eyes. "There's apparently more people as well, but this land is freaking huge. It's everywhere Clem has ever been, which is like half of America. I've tried for years to find anyone from the group, so when I saw you on the couch with that stupid face of yours that you make when you're confused... I... I thought I really had gone insane, maybe seeing an illusion or some shit like that."

Luke stopped, staring at a picture of him and his family on the tan wall. Nick continued walking and talking, before noticing that his best friend wasn't by his side. He turned around and approached Luke slowly, whose back was facing him.

"Luke?"

"You said only anyone connected to Clem is here, right?"

"Yea..." Nick answered, unsure of the direction this was heading to.

"Then my parents... they're... they're not here. I won't get to see them again... apologize for all of my crazy shit."

Nick gently placed his hand on Luke's shoulder. "No.. they're probably not. My mom isn't here either. All we can do is hope they're also resting in peace somewhere."

He turned around to face Nick, his usually bright eyes darkening a bit. "Yea... yea... Um, let's go. I'd rather not stick around this place. Anyway we've got a meet and greet to attend." He said with a slight laugh, attempting to cover up the frown that was previously occupying his face.

They both headed out the front door, with one hiding his trying to hide his pure joy, the other his sorrow.


	2. I was so Green

**A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, but I've finally updated :) Sorry it took forever, I've been busy with school and shit, but I'm planning to release several more chapters in the upcoming weeks (hopefully longer than this one). Anyway, thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this.**

Sometimes Nick really hated himself.

_Scratch that._ _All the time he did._

He found himself growing increasingly disgusted by the second, not of the foul stench of the rotting forest surrounding him and his best friend (who at the current moment was hopping around like an idiot, exclaiming, "_Nick, I feel so alive right now! Damn, I love the weather here!" _Nick found this incredibly ironic.)

What was bothering him was… well, himself.

Here he was, grinning like he had just won the lottery, (even though he would never waste his money on that shit, it was god-damn rigged, like Pete's games of poker) because his best friend was here with him, because _they were both dead._

_And he was happy._

Nick had been in this mysterious place for several years already, and had only seen a handful of people and talked to far fewer. The ones he did actually converse with always seemed tense (especially that big asshole who was always trying to pick a fight with Lee), constantly being reminded that they were only connected because of Clementine…and the fact that they were all dead.

So, after spending several years mostly by himself he was ecstatic to see Luke, even if that meant that his friend was really deceased.

Of course, after Nick arrived here he was constantly checking up on the group on the magical T.V. (which he dubbed Laina) that seemed to always manage to keep tabs on Clem's location.

It was the day after Luke's birthday when he flicked on the T.V. expecting to see Luke, Clem, Jane, Kenny, and the others still near the campfire. Nick was not expecting to stumble upon his best friend dying. He remembered staring at the T.V. as Luke struggled to swim to the surface, all of his efforts failing, as a walker clung on his ankle.

Nick had let out a choked sob in disbelief, the remote falling out of his grasp.

_He couldn't believe it… But there it was._

He had never expected Luke to die young.

Even before the days of the zombie apocalypse and Luke showing off his skill with his machete, he had always been so daring. Luke was jumping off roofs, sneaking around at night, pulling pranks, doing every risky thing imaginable and never getting more than some bruises and a detention, while Nick had to be coaxed to even leave his house at times.

Luke was everything he wasn't. Brave. Charming. Amiable. The classic hero.

Nick was a mess back then (not that he isn't now), but Luke had been the ray of light that had somehow defied the odds and sneaked into Nick's drab life.

Luke was bright and cheerful, but somehow realistic, (a feat many have failed at) and he seemed so...

_Invincible._

In his childhood Nick was so green, naïve and innocent (at least until Uncle Pete showed up), but every little problem upset him.

And then there was Luke who was the blue to his green, the hope and the clarity and the comfort among his confusion and his pain.

Nothing seemed to bother Luke, it was like he was untouchable, he was always moving on.

But Nick was too young, too stupid, to realize that his dependence on Luke was burdening the young man, even if neither of them realized it before it was too late. Luke had gotten used to comforting others, that he never did so for himself, brushing off his own emotional wounds like leaves that had accidentally fluttered from a tree and just so happened to land on him.

But here Luke was.

Dead.

But still his dorky self.

And Nick still relying heavily on his friend's guidance.

God, Nick did truly hate himself. But this time... he swore that no matter what...

_Luke comes first._


	3. The Salty Seas Behind the Eyes

He was dead, but he was alive.

Luke could feel his heart steadily beating, the chill air entering and leaving his lungs -the same lungs that had previously been filled to the brink with icy water - and his leg didn't have a bullet hole straight through it (well he didn't exactly check for that yet, but due to the fact he wasn't limping around and trying to hold in bursts of pain, he could presume he was physically alright).

It was a miracle.

A creepy one.

But still.

Luke didn't know what think about of all... this.

He felt like that cat that one of his professor's was obsessed with... the... um, Schrödinger's cat?

It sounded right... The cat who was tested by Doctor Schrödinger who supposedly ended up being both alive and dead in his box...

Sounded like him, and Nick, and about every other soul in this place.

A complete paradox.

Alive in one universe but dead in another, connected only by the thoughts and memories of a single person.

It was utterly baffling.

Luke was never the best with things concerning science (unless it had to do with blowing the experiments up, that he was awesome at!) and just any activity with lots of amounts of theorizing and questioning. He liked physical things, obvious and right in front of him, factors he could clearly control and understand.

This is why he favored art so much. He was never the best with emotions and feelings, they were sneaky little things that he once attempted to understand, but gave up a while ago. The only way he could clearly express himself was with art, stroking the page with a furious passion that bubbled up from his deepest corridors, creating detailed, but accurate representations of his deepest thoughts.

Art was his closet hobby when he was younger, he was terrified that his peers would tease him about his rather girlish preferences over 'manly' things, like football and jumping off buildings. However, Nick and his mom was the only ones who knew (well, besides his dog Sam, who used to lay down near him when he was painting in his room).

He and Nick had first met each other in the art room in elementary school, their art teacher had somehow found it logical to pair up the shy boy with the one with ADHD.

_Luke recalled that day rather vividly._

_He had shaded in a raccoon, before he mischievously decided to make the picture 20% cooler. He made little squiggles near the raccoon's nose, and long lines covering most of its face, half off the lines hanging off its chin. _

_He gave out a little smirk, before glancing over to the kid that had placed next to him. Luke had seen him around before, the other boy was in a different 1st grade class, but they had recess together. The boy usually just sat near the wall, his head facing down, buried in a book. Once, about a few months ago, he had asked the boy if he would like to join Luke and some of the others in a game of tag, but the child had declined._

_Now he sat quietly next to Luke, using an orange crayon to scribble on his arm. _

_Luke scooted his chair closer to him, trying to catch a glimpse of what he was drawing onto his arm "Hey."_

_He scooted his seat back a bit, not used to someone actually wanting to talk to him and possibly not ridicule him. "What do you want?"_

_Luke pouted, "I just wanted to ask you something. What you are you drawing on your arm?"_

_The boy, with his cap covering half of his face, glanced over at him to look at Luke's paper._

_Cap (that's what Luke started to mentally call him) let out a small snort._

_"I think I should be asking you that question."_

_Luke wasn't listening, he had a knack for sneaking around and 'borrowing' things, and he really liked that kid's hat... so he decided to st- borrow it._

_He snatched the hat from his fellow six-year-old's head, grinning wide in victory. "FOR SPARTA!" He shouted, pumping his fist into the air._

_The class and the teacher looked at the back of classroom, only to hear the usually shy Luke screaming a battle cry and his partner staring strangely at him._

_Mrs. Carol didn't see anyone getting killed, so she was perfectly fine with this. Most of the hooligans she taught were naturally loud, and random references in her other classes were usually a norm (eventhough it had never happened in this young of a grade before)._

_Cap waited for Luke to stop yelling before he calmly asked a question, "Can I have my hat back?"_

_Luke looked at him in shock._

_This was first time he had seen Cap without his hat blocking his upper half of his face or him ducking his head down, obscuring most of his facial details from view. He always wondered why he did that. He had come to a conclusion that Cap was shy or something among those lines, but now he knew the reason._

_Cap had a treasure stored away in his eyes._

_"So, can I have my hat back?" Cap repeated, starting to grow impatient._

_Luke cocked his head curiously._

_Cap frowned at him. "What's wrong with you?" _

_Luke continued staring._

_Cap was growing creeped out._

_After a moment of silence, Luke gazed straight into his eyes, looking directly into Cap's soul, which kind of scared Cap. The only other people who could accomplish that was his dad and his uncle, who both kind of frightened the young boy._

_"Why is the ocean in your eyes?"_

_Cap had choked._

_"What?" He spluttered, confused by the hyper-maniac's behavior._

_Luke picked up a blue crayon, his eyes flickering back and forth between them._

_He pointed at the crayon, which was labeled, 'Ocean Blue.'_

_"See your eyes match the crayon. They're ocean blue."_

_Nick face-palmed. "That's stupid." _

_"No... it's really pretty. How did you get all that water in your eyes? You're not crying so it can't be that..." Luke wondered out-loud, scratching his head._

_Cap blushed furiously, ducking his head down. "You shouldn't call a guy's eyes pretty, you're acting like I'm a girl or something..."_

_Luke smiled nervously, before letting out a Cheshire cat-like grin, his chocolate eyes practically popping out of his head._

_"CAN I TOUCH THEM?!" Luke exclaimed, leaping towards Nick._

_"HECK NO, NOW GIVE ME MY HAT BACK!"_

_Five minutes later, both Luke and Cap (Luke had learned that his name was actually Nick) were sent for to the principal's office, for Luke trying to poke Nick's eyes out, and for Nick knocking over Luke, in a struggle to regain his prized possession from the other's grasp._

Luke smiled at the memory. Man he missed the days when things were simpler, no walkers, no college loans, not being in a weird state between being dead and alive.

He glanced over his shoulder, only to see Nick dragging behind, his brows furrowed in concentration, a slight frown resting on his face.

Luke stopped, waiting for Nick to catch up.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yea, just... thinking." Nick replied, reaching his arm back to rub at his neck (a habit he always did when he was upset).

New mission #149311 located: Cheer Nick up.

"Woah, Nick that's pretty dangerous. I didn't know your brain could support that function." Luke teased, smirking and bumping his shoulder affectionately against Nick's.

"Neither did I."

Oh, Nick was **really** upset. This was not good. He only gave a legit reply to his jokes when he was really sad (usually he would tell Luke to "Shut up and go annoy someone else.").

Luke thought for a second, before he remembered what he was thinking about a few minutes prior to this.

"Your eyes are still pretty."

Nick practically had the same reaction as his seven-year-old self.

"WHAT?"

"Can I touch them?"

Nick sighed, "Oh my god, not this shit again."

"Please..."

"No. Don't you fucking dare say it." Nick warned, recalling the first (and sadly, not the last time this occurred).

"For... SPARTA!" Luke exclaimed, spreading his arms out and spinning around Nick, before he crashed into a tree.

"DO IT FOR THE VINE, NICK!" Luke kept on yelling, as he stood up and started to randomly spin again.

Nick felt laughter bubbling up inside him, but he tried to keep a straight face. "Luke, you are so damn lucky that there's no walkers here or else you would already be dead meat."

Luke stopped spinning, standing in front of Nick and staring seriously into his eyes.

"I think you mean... frozen meat!" He said, somehow managing to keep a straight face, even when joking about his own death.

Nick scowled. "My god, man, don't say shit like that."

Luke kept on smiling (for Nick, even if he wanted to crumble into a ball whenever his unfortunate demise was mentioned) "Speaking of shit, remember when you called me 'Shit Eyes' for a whole year."

Nick couldn't stop the small smile from sneaking onto his face. "Honestly, that was the best year of my life."

Luke grinned widely back at in response, before it shrunk. "Wait man, we've been walking for a while... Exactly where are we going?"

Nick shrugged. "I don't exactly know. I usually have to walk in this direction for a few days before I usually get to where most of the other people are."

He frowned. "You don't have a map?"

Nick shook his head. "If I did, I would have already been using it."

"Guess who does have a map?" Luke said, motioning Nick to stop as he sat down next to a tree.

"What the fuck are you doing now?"

Luke took his shoe off, pulling out a soggy map, holding it up proudly.

"Guess that old trick really does pay off."

"What the fuck, Luke? Carver didn't take your map?"

"Well, he hated being near me- I mean besides when he got to beat me up- but yea, he wasn't smart enough to check my shoe."

"You have gotta be kidding me. And why is it wet? It's practically dripping. Please tell me that's not foot sweat."

Luke took a deep breath. "I think it's from when I..." He froze up, shivering, despite the pleasant weather, as images started to race through his mind.

Luke was frozen, somewhere physically in a lake, and mentally stuck here.

_"Just go back. Please. Please..."_

_He was freezing. He was already half-submerged in the water. He felt like he should run, but where could he hide in the chilly water, where he was about to slip into and remain forever._

_Her voice rang in his ears._

_"It's going to be alright!"_

_Liar._

_He was doomed to drown and remain as a walker forever, only to feed on the lost souls of people in this horrid-_

"Luke...?"

_He never had a chance._

"LUKE!"

_Because after all... the dead always win._

'BAM!'

Luke was pulled back to reality as something hard and wet whacked his face. Nick's eyes peered into his own. Nick was holding the map, which he had just used to snap Luke out of his daze by smacking him across the face._  
><em>

He shook his head, as if that could clear his mind of the horrible flashbacks.

"...Yea...?"

"Come on...Let's keep on moving..."

Luke sat up, his voice shaking as he tried to pretend that nothing had happened. It had always worked before.

"I-I really hope they have a McDonald's around here, I've been craving a Big Mac for a few years now," Luke halfheartedly joked, not wanting to see the sadness seeping back into Nick's eyes.

Yet when he looked at Nick's eyes, his clear oceans had been replaced with salty seas. Nick turned around, before staring ahead, trying to get rid of the tears forming in his eyes.

"Yea... Me too."

They started walking, physically side by side, yet mentally so far apart.


	4. Outta Time

**A/N: Hey guys! I just wanted to thank everyone for the feedback on the last few chapters :3 Anyway, I'm planning to reply to the more recent reviews (and I'm planning to do this every few chapters or so).**

**Chameishida: Haha, thank you for the nice comments :) I do try my best to try to keep Nick and Luke in character (which is surprisingly hard at times, since their reactions to things differ from mine XD. And I'm still trying to figure out what direction to go with this story, so it will probably be a lot different from your ideas, but if you want to tell me about them, I would totally consider putting some of them in the fic. Also, I'm sure you could write an awesome fanfic (I would be absolutely willing to read it!).  
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**OreoAnarchy: Don't worry, I have an unhealthy obsession with Luke as well (especially with his hair XD). And thanks :3 I'm trying to make the story not to be completely humorous (eventhough that's the only thing I'm decent at in writing haha) but making everything drab and dramatic is hard :/ I'd much rather make jokes about Vine.**

**Emilyrose727: XD And yes, I absolutely love Nick's eyes, so they're going to be in a lot of jokes and possibly a bit of symbolism regarding them. And I tried to make Luke and Nick's childhood at least a bit humorous (but don't worry, the dramatic and awkward teenage years will be discussed as well). And thank you, but this is not perfect, I still have to go back and rewrite like half of these chapters once I'm finished with the story.**

**xxEmber24xx: Thank you :) I'm going to try to update about every few days, so a lot of people don't have to wait for a new chapter (or that I don't completely forget what was going on XD).**

Nick still didn't understand how Luke could keep on moving all the time.

Even here, he was a smiles and corny jokes, but there was something different about him.

He was scarred.

Physically, yes, he did have some on his arms and back (and a small one on his chin), but he was mentally wounded.

Luke had tried to cover it up, but can one ever truly prevent fear from flashing through their eyes?

Luke's hands were shaking, his breathing unsteady, his muscles clenching as if he was preparing for a horrible impact. Nick had seen him practically zone out. Yes, Luke was still here in this forest with him physically, but mentally he was in a deeper place.

Luke was terrified.

Scared of his scarring past, his perplexing present situation, and his unsure future. He was afraid he would die again-either by drowning or something far more terrible (even though Nick couldn't imagine what would be more horrendous than dying of your greatest fear).

Sure, Nick had flashbacks too, but he was prepared for them, used to them. Luke... wasn't as ready. After all, in Nick's last moments (hell, even when he got shot) he knew that he was done for. He had time (as little as it was) to come to terms with his approaching death. Even when he got bit, he knew what he had to do. He couldn't bear to live with himself if he made himself a risk to the group, so he tangled himself up in a gate, falling into a state of consciousness where he couldn't feel anything. The only thoughts that remained in his brain was _how hungry he was _and_ how that those two people approaching him looked absolutely delicious._

Then, he woke up in this mysterious land, throwing up everywhere due to those sickening thoughts.

He wanted to eat an eleven-year-old and his best friend's love interest (?).

Eew.

At least it wasn't Rebecca, he really couldn't bear the thought of wanting to eat someone who was pregnant.

Double eew. God, he just told himself not to think of it, but now that caused him to think of his walker finding Rebecca and ripping her to pieces (not that he didn't get really pissed off at her sometimes, but he didn't want to motherfucking eat her!) and now he wanted to puke again. Think happy thoughts. Or sad ones, or whatever you were thinking before. Uh... Luke. Flashbacks. Why Luke was getting effected by them more severely than Nick.

It must be because Luke had just... died out of the blue.

Nick was sure Luke wasn't expecting it either, he seemed damn invincible at times, being able to sneak around and not get caught (even if he did get caught, like at Carver's, he wasn't killed). He couldn't imagine what horrific thoughts his friend was experiencing that literally made him freeze up.

But now here Luke was acting like nothing had happened. Pretending that he wasn't mentally with Nick for several minutes, and that his mind wasn't stuck between the past and the present.

It had been about four years since Luke died, but for him, it had probably felt like minutes ago that he had just been with Clem and the group. It had to have some type of effect on his mental state.

Yet, here Luke was asking where the nearest fucking McDonald's was. He knew Luke liked to keep the mood light, which was perfectly fine at times, but sometimes in doing so he ignored his own problems.

Nick needed to ask Luke about what the fuck just had just happened before it possibly got any worse.

He wasn't going to let history repeat itself.

He needed to stop being such a coward and just ask him if he wanted to talk about what just happened or if he needed some comfort or something (which Nick wasn't the best at providing, he wasn't the very great at showing any emotion clearly besides anger, but he'll try).

He cleared his throat to snatch Luke's attention away from the trees and onto him.

"Uh, Luke..." He started, unsure of how to casually ask his best friend (or anyone) if they were mentally stable.

Luke eyes flickered with worry. "Yea man? Is something wrong?"

"I, uh, well... I just wanted to see how y-"

A branch fell from the tree above him, whacking him on its way down.

_Are you fucking kidding me?_

Nick let out a yelp, rubbing his head. "Ow."

Luke looked up, confusion spreading across his face. "Uh, man who is that?"

Nick turned his head upward, glaring at the person in the trees, before yelling at them. "Seriously Omid? Thanks a fucking lot."

Omid climbed down from the tree he was in before grinning at Luke and Nick.

"You're welcome, Nick. Who's your friend?"

Nick nervously glanced between Luke and Omid, praying to god for Omid to _keep his mouth fucking shut about some of the things Nick told him about Luke._

"This is Luke."

Luke smiled warmly at him. Omid stared at him for a second before saying, "Wait this is _the Luke_?"

Nick rolled his eyes. "No, I know twenty fucking Lukes, man."

Luke was puzzled. "Uh, is that a bad thing?

"No, it's just Nick never stops talking about you. It's like your his idol or-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Nick hissed at Omid, while Luke chuckled.

Omid started to open his mouth to continue on about his very amusing tales, but then a stick hit him on the head.

He spun around to beam at the kid in the trees. "Duck, you hit me instead of Nick, try aiming more left next time."

Nick face-palmed. _Why do I always have to deal with this shit?_

Duck scurried down from the trees, jumping around like a monkey on a pure-sugar diet.

"Hey Nick! Hey! Who's this? Is he..." Duck paused for a dramatic effect. "Bruce Wayne?"

"I'm not saying I am batman but... lets, just say no one has ever seen me and Batman in the same room together. " Luke winked at Duck. "I have gotten lost from Gotham City. Can you help Robin and I find our ways back?" Luke replied, obviously thrilled to see a kid... who actually acted liked a kid. Both Nick and Luke had liked Clem and all (hell, Luke even died saving her life) but she acted very mature for her age, which made everyone almost forget that she was only eleven in some instances.

It was weird seeing someone so innocent after years of living in a shattered world where either you stayed innocent or learned how to survive. Clem and Sarah flashed in his mind at that thought, causing Nick to give a slight sigh. Man, Sarah didn't deserve a gruesome death like that. No one did... except maybe Carver.

Duck frowned. "But I'm Robin, and Lee is actually Batman. You can be Alfred and Nick can be... Catwoman!"

Nick groaned, causing the rest to laugh.

"Hey, at least you don't have to be Commissioner Gordon." Omid stated with a chuckle.

Duck smiled at them before running off into the woods hollering, "THE DARK KNIGHT RISES!"

Omid and Luke both laughed at Duck, while Nick face-palmed for what seemed liked the 85th time that day.

"Shouldn't you be watching Duck?" Nick asked, still slightly annoyed at Omid interrupting them before,

"I should be, but he'll be fine... Probably." Omid said, whipping out an iphone. "I can just text Katjaa to tell her to meet us here.

Luke and Nick both appeared shocked.

"WE CAN USE OUR PHONES HERE AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME, NICK? I HAVEN'T UPDATED MY SNAPCHAT SINCE FOREVER!" Luke exclaimed, teasing Nick (but he really did wanna update his Snapchat, or at least his Facebook status).

"Luke, I've been here for four years and I've tried to get on Tumblr at least several million times, but there's no reception or wi-fi here." Nick said, snatching Omid's device out of his hands.

"Omid, this isn't even fucking turned on," Nick observed, causing Omid to give out an immature snicker.

"Try pushing some of its buttons then," Omid replied, trying to hold in his amusement as Nick frowned at him. "Why the hell does everyone I know act like a bunch of fucking eleven-year-olds?"

"Hey, Clem was eleven and she was freaking badass." Luke commented.

"Well, she's not just a badass anymore. She's what Jane calls a 'sassy fifteen-year-old.'"

"It's so weird to think of her being older than eleven." Luke said, rubbing his head as if that could make up for all the years he had previously missed.

"Hey, buddy, I haven't seen Clementine since she was nine, so don't even start with that shit."

Luke gave Omid a strange look. "Please don't tell me Clem was a badass then too. That kid deserved to be innocent at least sometime in her life."

"She didn't even know how to shoot a gun when I first met her. Eventually she was taught how to, but she was still nervous to use it. But even before that, she wasn't dumb or anything, she knew how to hide and get away from the walkers as fast as possible, she was a pretty smart kid."

"Still is."

Luke and Omid nodded in agreement at Nick's comment. They walked in silence for a few moments before Omid spoke up again.

"So, uh, Nick and Luke, are you guys heading towards Macon?"

"Yea, we've been following this map that Luke has of all of like freaking America."

"No Canada?"

Nick checked the map. "Nope."

"Damn, I have always wanted to go there. Anyways, Duck and I were just in Macon a few hours ago, but you know how these woods are. One moment you're near Macon, next you're in South Carolina."

"So, do you think we're in Georgia?"

"Probably, but it's always difficult to tell here."

"Okay, well it was nice see-" Nick started, trying to end the conversation. Omid was an awesome guy, but he really needed to talk _privately _with Luke.

"Wait, Nick... Have you seen Christa anywhere?" Omid questioned, a solemn expression now covering his usually cheerful face.

"No, man, uh... sorry."

Luke looked awkwardly between the two wondering, _'Where have I heard that name before?'_

"It's fine, dude. ... I'll see you in Macon, I've gotta go get Duck and bring him back to Katjaa before she has a heart attack."

"Yea, bro, I'll see you soon."

Omid walked off, into the woods, calling Duck's name.

Luke watched him until he was clearly out of view, then he pounced on Nick, asking him dozens of questions.

"Nick, who was that guy? How does he know Clem? Who's Duck? And Christa? And Katjaa?"

"Slow down, man. Katjaa and Duck were Kenny's family. Duck was bit and Katjaa decided to, um, to ... take her own life."

Luke looked down sadly. "Holy shit."

"Omid knew Clem before she met us. He was with some people from her original group, like Lee and Kenny. He ended up watching over Clem after Lee got bit and Kenny was separated from their group. He ended up getting killed and his girlfriend, Christa, who was pregnant, had a miscarriage. Christa was the person that Clem was with when they got attacked by bandits. We don't know if she's dead or undead or even alive... Omid's been worried about her. So, he tends to watch after Duck who's probably like the kid he never had. But Luke, I'll tell you more about it later... I _really_ have to ask you some-"

"OH, _YOU'RE_ FUCKING BACK AND NOW YOU BROUGHT THE HOMO PARADE ALONG WITH YOU!" Screamed a furious voice that came out of from seemingly nowhere.

_SERIOUSLY? HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE LURKING AROUND THESE FUCKING WOODS? THEY'RE ALMOST AS BAD AS THE MOTHERFUCKING BITERS!_

They both turned around, Luke glancing around confusingly, and Nick glaring at the trees behind them.

Nick pointed into the trees, at a bulky figure hiding (or at least trying to and failing) behind some bushes. With a scowl, he sarcastically said, "Luke, met my other_ best friend, Larry_."


End file.
